


You're Siu Mai Type

by StellaFleuret



Series: Brohana [3]
Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Asian parents, Chinese Language, Dim Sum, Diners, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Romantic Fluff, cantonese, grimy bro brunch, sheet masks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 15:30:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19212295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellaFleuret/pseuds/StellaFleuret
Summary: Craig and Dadsona have a grimy bro brunch.  Afterwards, they chill.





	You're Siu Mai Type

**Author's Note:**

> The final part! I need to focus on my dissertation. Hope people have enjoyed reading these two, because I enjoyed writing them. If I have ideas, I may add engagement/wedding chapters.

I get out of my reflex blue Mazda 6 and briefly admire the car for a moment before checking my reflection in the mirror.  It’s a beautiful car, but since my lease is almost up, I’ve wondered what new car I should get.  Craig has offered to help, but things just aren’t the same without Manda Panda. 

I run my hands through my hair and make sure there’s nothing on my face or anything stuck in my teeth.

All right, I’m good.

I straighten and walk across the parking lot to the door of Bacon Bros’ Diner.  My stomach rumbles, and I rub at it, looking forward to the grimy brunch date I’m about to have with Craig.  He’s waiting just outside the door with River, who’s clutching Arnold the capybara, strapped to his chest.  My heart skips.

River spots me and waves frenetically.  “Lala!”

I wave back as my boyfriend turns in my direction and we smile at each other.  “Lala, River!”

Craig could look good in a trash bag but for some reason, he looks particularly hot today.  He’s wearing a green bomber jacket over his white shirt— fitted well enough that I can admire his broad chest— and dark jeans and black leather boots. 

“You look like a Korean model or something,” I tell him as we kiss each other hello.

“Ah.”  He grins. “It’s the girls, bro.  They’re going through the K-pop phase and gave me a couple tips on how to dress before I went out.”

“You already looked good before, but tell them I appreciate it,” I laugh, kissing him again.  I lace my fingers through his.  “When Manda Panda got into K-pop, I’d just hear the same songs blasting in her room over and over again.  Drove me crazy, man.  The lyrics would get stuck in my head and I’m not even Korean.  She’d go around the house calling me ‘appa’ instead of ‘Pops.’ One of her weirdest phases.”

“Hey, as long as it’s keeping my girls out of trouble and doesn’t do anything to jeopardize their health, I’m willing to deal with it.   Right, River?”  Craig ruffles the soft tufts of hair on top of her forehead.

She waves the stuffed capybara at us.  “Blep!”

I grin and tap the tip of her nose.  “Let’s head on inside for some food, okay?”

River gurgles and smiles.

My heart could’ve burst.  Seeing River always makes me think of Manda Panda when she was a baby.

Craig smiles.  “Oh, she’s hungry.”

I open the door for him and he heads inside after thanking me.

It’s a weekday, so in no time at all, we’re seated at a booth while River plays with Arnold in her high chair next to Craig.

I’m tempted to get the same grimy brunch set as my boyfriend (cheese biscuits with gravy, two fried eggs and country potatoes), but ultimately decide to get country style bacon with ham, scrambled eggs and potatoes just to mix things up.  And that way we get to share.  They give us a basket of buttered white and wheat toast on the house anyway.  Just one of the many reasons Craig and I love this place.

We place our orders along some drinks— fresh squeezed fruit juices— and settle into our booths. 

We make small talk for about ten minutes when Craig’s cell phone rings.        

“Hey, man, what’s up?”  He answers.  Then he mouths to me, “It’s Justin.”

Ahh.  “What’s he up to?”  I ask. “Haven’t seen him in ages.”

Craig and I met Justin— who's an ABC like me— at college in ASU.  He's notorious for being quite the drinker in our group and even got into some hilarious drunken shenanigans with Craig.  Thinking about it makes me smile.

“Korean barbecue?  Sounds good.  Everyone else coming?”

I lock gazes with Craig again, feeling my mouth water.

“Yeah, man.  We’re free this Friday.  Nice! Text us the details and we’ll be there. See you then.”

Craig hangs up and sets his phone aside. 

“When was the last time you had Korean barbecue, bro?” I ask.  “I think it’s been a couple months for me.”

“Same.   Justin’s trying to decide between Seoul Grill and Flaming Bull.”

I nod.  Seoul Grill and Flaming Bull are the best Korean barbecue places in the area.

Just then, our food arrives and we both dig in. Craig and I take turns cutting up River’s pancake and banana and feeding it to her.  And sharing our food with each other too.

“You’re siu mai type, bro.”  I wave the bacon in front of his face with fork.  “Always will be.”

He snicker-cringes.  “That would’ve been perfect if you actually had siu mai instead of bacon, though.”

He’s right.

“All the more reason to plan some dim sum.”

It doesn’t take long for me to finish my food.  I relax into my booth with a satisfied sigh when my phone rings.  I take it out and exhale softly when I see the name on the screen: 阿媽.  She always has perfect timing.

“It’s my mom, Craig.”

“Answer it, bro.”

“It’ll be a couple minutes.  I bet she’s calling to ask about you.  Or when we’re all going to eat together.”

“It’s cool, man.  Besides, that’s what all Asian parents do.”

He’s right.  Again.  “Yeah.” I take a deep breath and answer.  “喂，阿媽?”

“衰仔，有冇搞錯啊？都冇打電話俾你媽。”

My lips pull up into a small smile.  “對唔住,我最近好忙。”

Mom scoffs.  “Yeah, 你掛住同個男朋友一起所以忙囉!  已經拍咗拖幾耐啦?” 

I feel my cheeks heat up and meet Craig’s gaze from across the table.  He smirks at me as if he knows what I’m saying in Cantonese, which is stupid because as far as I know, Craig can only speak and understand English.  “七個月,” I mutter.

“七個月! 我哋幾時會再見佢呀？我唔記得咗你舊個室友係咩樣啦。我同你啊爸要同你哋一起食點心!”

Dim sum with Craig and my parents?  I _have_ been craving dim sum.  “Okay 啊媽, 我而家同佢食緊飯, 我等一陣再打電話俾妳, okay?   我愛妳。”

“Hm. We love you too.  記得喔, 飲茶!”

“Okay, okay.”  I hang up and shove my phone back into my jacket pocket.  “My parents want us to have dim sum with them some time.”

Craig’s eyes widen.  “Like mom, like son, huh?  We were just talking about dim sum and then your mom calls about it?  That’s no coincidence.”

I chuckle, shrugging. 

Once we’re all done with our food (River’s high chair was surprisingly cleaner today), I pay the bill at the register and we leave the diner. 

I stretch.   “That was good, man.”

Craig nods.  “Always is.”  He pats his stomach.  “We should walk around downtown to burn all this brunch off.” 

“Goo!” River exclaims, waving Arnold in the air and pointing down the street with her other hand.

“Yeah!  You’re my daughter for a reason,” Craig grins.

“And I third that, too.  A walk sounds good.”

 

We mostly relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  After dinner, a movie, and making sure the girls are in bed, I rummage around my backpack for a couple sheet masks and bring them over to him.

Craig sits up straighter on the couch, his eyes widening. “Where’d you get those?” he asks, incredulous.

“Remember Celeste?”

He glances up at the ceiling, thinking, and then looks back at me and nods.

“She recently went back to Seoul to visit family and friends and I asked her to bring back face masks.”

“Dude, you asked her to bring back face masks but no Korean _snacks_?”

I laugh and offer him one.  “Home spa day, man.  Join me.” 

Craig looks at the pack I’m holding out and then looks back up at my face.  “I mean, I’ll never turn down an opportunity to look pretty for my bro,” he says, taking it with a grin.

I sit down beside him and let out a relaxed sigh as I put the cool, hydrating mask over my face.  I feel his big, warm hand envelop mine and turn to look at him with his own mask covering his face.

“I just wanna say, bro…  Thank you for taking that chance with me at the barbecue. I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done if things hadn’t worked out the way they did.”

I squeeze his hand and smile.  “Nah, man.  I stand by it.  I’ll be your bro for as long as you want and need me to.”

Craig leans forward and we try kissing, but the wet masks are slippery against our lips.  We both pull away and burst out laughing.

I push back the masks’ material around our mouths instead and we kiss again.

**Author's Note:**

> ABC = American Born Chinese  
> ASU = Asian Student Union  
> Siu mai (Cantonese pronunciation) = a popular dim sum snack made of ground pork, shrimp, Chinese black mushroom, scallion and ginger
> 
> Note: Dadsona is Chinese-American and speaks Cantonese with his parents, not Mandarin, and the text is based off of that. I asked my Hong Kong friend to help with this. A general translation of the phone call is below.
> 
> “Hello, Mom?”  
> “Naughty boy/naughty rascal, what’s wrong with you? You haven’t called your mom.”  
> “Sorry, I’ve been busy.”  
> “Yeah, with your boyfriend! How long has it been already?”  
> “Seven months…”  
> “Seven months! When are we going to meet him again? I forgot what your old roommate looks like. Your dad and I want to eat dim sum with you two.”  
> “Okay Mom, I’m eating with him now, I’ll call you again later, okay? I love you.”  
> “Hm. We love you too. Remember, dim sum!”


End file.
